Jorge

Lopez

López went unclaimed on waivers and is now free to pursue other opportunities. The 32-year-old righty struggled to a 6.57 ERA across 24 2/3 innings (26 appearances) this season for the Nationals before being cut loose over the weekend.

López struggled in his 2025 action with the Nationals as seen in a 6.57 ERA and 1.30 WHIP over 24 2/3 innings. The 32-year-old could have interest on the waiver wire, but if he goes unclaimed, he’ll be eligible to elect free agency or report to Triple-A Rochester.

The Nationals will do their best to stay away from Finnegan in the coming days as he deals with shoulder fatigue. The 33-year-old veteran stopper was able to play catch on Sunday without any issues and appears likely to avoid a trip to the injured list. Jorge López picked up a save on Saturday night in his absence and is the most likely candidate to fill the void. Jose A. Ferrer is the other high-leverage name to know for fantasy purposes in Washington for those desperately chasing saves.

Finnegan blew the save Thursday night and the 33-year-old wasn’t called on to in a chance for one against the Giants on Saturday. Martinez suggested that Finnegan will be out for a couple of days until he’s feeling stronger. In the meantime, the Nationals could turn to former closer Jorge Lopez until Finnegan is ready, and Lopez was able to convert the save against San Francisco on Saturday.

With a three run lead against the Giants on Saturday, it was López who was summoned to close things out with Kyle Finnegan pitching in two of the last four days with a blown save on Thursday. López struck out one batter in a perfect frame for his first save of the season.

He gave up two singles and a walk before being pulled after just eight pitches. López is actually 5-0 this season, but with his ERA up to 7.41, his roster spot might be in danger. He’s struck out only 10 and given up 14 runs in 17 innings.

López will immediately begin serving the league-issued two-game ban for “intentionally throwing at Andrew McCutchen” earlier this week. The 32-year-old righty will miss the rest of Washington’s weekend series against the Rockies, but will be eligible to return on Monday.

With the Nationals down 2-0 in the seventh, Lopez hit Pirates left fielder Bryan Reynolds with a pitch and then threw a fastball over Andrew McCutchen’s head three pitches later. Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton complained, and both teams cleared the dugout and yelled at each other a little bit. No warnings were issued by the umpires, and Martinez was not ejected from the game, so the suspension is a bit of a surprise here. López will be available to return from his suspension on April 20 against the Rockies.

Dave Martinez, MLB’s most irresponsible manager when it comes to handling relievers, never should have asked this of Finnegan after he threw 36 pitches the last two days. But Finnegan put his arm on the line for the team that non-tendered him in November and came through with a big performance. He’ll be down Tuesday, which might lead to a save chance for Jorge López or Jose A. Ferrer.

López warmed up Thursday, but he sat back down because he didn’t feel well. With the Nationals having lost two close games, López certainly would have pitched at least once by now had he been feeling up to it.